October 2013 - insert witty, worn out, nearing the end thread name here

[PseudoBadger]

New thread :)

Morning all

flyer what a rubbish day so far. How awful re the tires.

legally you are either a brilliant friend or a lunatic :) That's a lot of kids. We have the donkey too and it's currently sitting in our spare room and I keep nipping in to push it around. It fits through all our internal doors which I'm delighted with as I wasn't expecting.

Just back from mw apt and baby has turned woo hoo! He is head down, well positioned and measuring spot on. Had lovely mw (who I remember from last time). I was asking her about cord blood storage but she didn't know if it can be done here. She is going to bring it up at her regional mw meeting and get some info for me.

I'm working from home today. Told work I will be finishing next week although my boss won't be back until next Tue.,,,just feel better knowing the end is in sight. DS in nursery and the house lovely and quiet....getting some quality time with the dog.

Feel so bad for ds too that his wee world will change forever soon :(

Hello everyone, been a while since I checked in! off to catch the Eurostar to London in a bit. I'm having trouble sleeping too - terrible restless arms and legs. Turns out nookie is the only thing that stops it

It's taken a lot of wrangling, but we're more or less settled on Alistair Tobias.

yay - such good news warlin! And good you are finishing earlier - nothing they can do about it. I've just been excluded from another meeting - so obviously and shamelessly that I'm going to work form home tomorrow or just take it off sick as it's too upsetting and too stressful now. Not my style and have never done it before but I can't take it anymore. The end is in sight indeed!

I don't feel bad at all about giving DS a sibling. I feel great about it! Your DS will have a richer and better childhood not being the only one. DP is an only child as his mum had fertility problems and couldn't have more and he says it's sad to grow up on your own, not matter how many friends you may have outside home. My DS is 5 now and totally excited about the baby, he was so jealous of all other children with siblings. I know you will have a smaller age gap which may be a bit challenging to start with and you may get some initial jealousy etc (I bet I will get it too once DS realises that I'm no longer just his!), but it will be so nice for them to grow up so close together, do the same activities and share memories later on.

I hope its not so terrible to be an only child seeing as my DS will be one!

Has anyone seen Prince George's first photo? He is gorgeous, and I have the Seraphine dress Kate is wearing! Wondering how much I could gt for it on eBay now...!

oh umlauf sorry, really didn't intend to upset anyone who is planning to have just one! DP is just one of millions of people who grew up as single children and everyone will have a different experience. Was just responding to mums who are worried about inflicting a sibling on their little ones. These decisions are so personal - there is no right or wrong. I was only talking about pros. x

Don't worry clapham, I think he'll be fine, if not we can always reassess the decision! There are pros and cons to both, my own sibling is terrible so I only ever wanted one. I think people often want what they didn't have. My mother thinks I'm terribly cruel for only wanting one!!

Children love the idea of siblings so I think it is lovely to have more than one child :-)

My sibling is not terrible at all but very weak personality and totally brainwashed by my mum who is controlling her and using her as her messenger so, sadly, because of my mum we are not close at all... I often feel like I don't have a sister. That's why I think I'm subconsciously trying to create what I didn't have, a happy loving family with siblings who grow up close together and support each other... probably easier said than done but I will do my best :-)

Interestingly we were talking about birth order and family size at my NCT class last night. Such a wide range of experiences - for example I am 1 of 7 and, although there were some positives, overall I didn't enjoy being part of such a large family. Whereas another lady there was 1 of 6 and loved it.

Sounds a bit bonkers given that I'm expecting DC2 but I'm a big fan of one child families. Our decision to have another was very driven by my personal feelings of wanting another, rather than any desire to give DD a sibling (if that makes sense).

Umlauf - I think you are right about people often wanting what they didn't have.

I'm an only child, and DP is the oldest of 3 boys. He definitely doesn't want 3 based on his experiences :o; we both thought we'd be happy with one and then I surprised us by wanting a 2nd DP will come round to having 2 I'm sure

Arrrgh, did get rather annoyed last night though when one of the husbands was raving about how a small age gap is best.

I couldn't believe he was saying all this stuff not knowing the size of other people's age gaps or the reasons behind them.

Im in the slept awful club too my legs are throbbing and my hips keep hurting on my side so i am constantly moving blueh.

I am a only child and hated it a lot I was devastated at the thought i might not have another Then this wee miracle came along but equally i know people who have/do hate there siblings its defo a personal choice.

I bought DS new books today The tiger who came to tea and mog the forgetful cat. I am trying to get him to branch out from nick sharrat and the hungry caterpillar!

Great news warlin

orange I like all those names but sophie elizabeth and thomas oliver best :)

Absolutely Bridget. However people don't understand that you get the gap you're given until they experience problems themselves :(

agree bridget - ideally, I would prefer a smaller age gap but it didn't happen this way and I can totally see pros and cons for both scenarios. So I'm not stressing about having 5 years between DC1 and DC2.

We also having moments of panic about bringing another child into the world, think its completely normal. DC1 has special needs so takes up a lot of our time. DC2 gets the rest and its his time that will be impacted more by baby coming along as DC1 needs almost constant 1 to 1. First years will be hard I am sure but somehow we will all muddle through and hope to come out other side smiling.

34 week mw appointment tomorrow, will be good to hear HV again.

For those packing hospital bags still remember the arnica tablets to help heal the internal bruising. Oh and if you have dc already who will be visiting you in hospital after baby born remember to look them out clothes before you go in. That way you won't be like my friend who's DH brought their son to hospital in trousers too short taken out the charity bag, odd socks and a dirty t-shirt

Dh is 2/4 and I'm 3/4. I didn't mind having brothers and sisters tbh and dh would like 4. I'm happy with 3!

My age gap is 4.9 years, not through choice. It would have been 3.11 had I not had mc. Although I definitely wasn't ready before then. Neither was our relationship tbh. We had dd very quickly and were living 100 miles apart until 34 weeks when I moved in. so actually spent time after she was born getting to know each other fully etc.

Oooh good book choices Falcons

Was going to say that if he likes Mog you could get 'Mog and the baby' but remembered the baby is very annoying, keeps crying and ends up in the road.....so maybe not!

Have a big soft spot for children's books...if money was no object (lottery win or mega rich hubbie) I'd set up a specialist children's book shop and not care two hoots if it made a profit.

Jelly good tip about the clothes for older DC. 36 years on my mum still hasn't forgiven my Dad for bringing my older siblings into hospital looking like urchins when I was born.

My DP is awful at getting DD dressed - if I ask him to pop upstairs to get a pair of socks or something you can bet he manages to find the one and only pair in drawer that no longer fit. It's like some weird talent!

haha jelly sounds like when I was born and my sister turned up in younger siblings clothes and shoes on the wrong feet!!

this is dc1 for us and we'll definitely have at least one more. im starting up as a childminder so will be at home but probably won't be able to afford to have two spaces taken up by our own kids so will probably be waiting until this one is at school until number 2. if money was no issue I'd have them closer but I don't really think age gaps matter. I have 2 older sisters and loved it, they're my best friends now! !

My mum is worse than dh, she brought Amelia to hospital (when I was in with HG) in a pair of pyjama shorts!! Apparantly dd convinced her they were normal shorts!

I have one sister who is 4.1 years older than me, we fought like cat and dog growing up but i can honestly say she is my best friend, I can't imagine not having her around. We are chalk and cheese though. Whenever I have any news to tell my sister is the first person I call...We've lived together at various points throughout our 20's and 30's, I realise how lucky I am having a good relationship with her.

Clapham yes we wonder if it was a envy/jealous thing with the tyres, it was done outside our house on the driveway and we live in a decent area of Liverpool....either this or we have upset a neighbour after only 2 months living here (not that we've actually spoken to any of them other than a brief hello)

I'm only set on having one but am open minded to the fact I may change my mind later on.

Children's illustrated books are just so beautiful these days (though the more minimalist Mog and the Albergs Funny Bones are still firm favourites of mine). I love the sumptuous colours and drawings.

Just back from my antenatal yoga - with each week I get more and more out of the sessions (I was a tinsy bit skeptical at the outset). Feel so much better for going

We're still having name anxieties too! Keep going off whichever was top of the list and having to revisit. Though we have been keeping it a closely guarded secret, I think I may need to consult you all soon as it is driving me mad!!

It's funny, we have swung from saying we can only just afford one DC to planning siblings and back again. We're obviously waiting to see how this one goes (and after a difficult time conceiving, we can't forget how much of a miracle it is) but I think if money were no object, we'd be trying for number 2 pretty soon. This is all subject to change after this DC's arrival of course!!

Hayle have you heard any news on the house yet?

We're both 2/2 btw, with the exact same gap between us and our elder brothers. Both of our brothers are quite difficult (but in different ways) and we spent a lot of time talking over the challenges of being a sibling to someone with issues/special needs.
But we also remembered the good times. And we have good relationships with our brothers now, too.

Speaking of children's books I had one when I was a child which I loved called "The Jolly Postman" it was so cool, I hope my mum still has it in the loft.

Also I don't know if anyone remembers topsy and tim books? These were my favourite books as a small girl I loved them

Very interesting to hear people's views on number of dc and age gaps etc. dh and I were both adamant we only ever wanted one dc and then when I found out I was having a girl I was even more adamant I would stick to the one as I had been desperate for a girl then as she got to 1yr+ months I started getting broody and it took me a good 9 months to talk dh into letting me have my implant removed and even then I had to agree not to get obsessive like last time with ovulations tests etc as dh has problems with his sperm so took us a year to fall with dd but only 3 months this time round and although I think long term dd will enjoy having a brother my immediate concerns are like those of others....feeling guilty for turning their little lives upside down. My age gap will be exactly 3 years give or take a week or so depending how close baby comes to due date . I am 1 of 6 and dh is 1 of 2 but they have 13 years between them so he is 24 and his sister is only 11